Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2004 | 9:34 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Nevada's congressional delegation aims to focus on transportation and education during this session of Congress while fighting for the state's share of the $2.4 trillion budget proposed by President Bush on Monday.
It is impossible to tell exactly how much federal money Nevada would receive in the unlikely event Congress were to approve President Bush's proposal with no questions asked, since it contains general funding requests for federal programs. Money specified for Nevada gets included as the delegation makes requests to the appropriations committees in each chamber and works with fellow lawmakers to get their projects incorporated into the 13 final spending bills that will eventually make up the final budget.
Monday's budget rollout starts the annual funding process that is supposed to be complete by Oct. 1, the start of the next fiscal year, but Congress has a habit of going beyond that deadline. President Bush just approved the last portion of federal money for fiscal year 2004 on Jan. 23 although the this fiscal year officially began last October.
According to a partial state-by-state breakdown of the budget request, Nevada has about $1.6 billion in federal funds coming into the state for school lunch programs, food stamps, children's health insurance and other federal grant programs.
For transportation programs, the administration requested $91 million in airport improvement projects, more than doubling the $45 million approved in 2003. The state also could get $226 million for highway planning and construction programs, which would be a slight decrease from the $231 million approved for this year, according to an Office of Management and Budget analysis.
Transportation is going to be a top priority for the delegation this year not only as they figure out funding levels for the next budget, but as they work to get programs approved for the next six years.
Congress needs to approve a multibillion-dollar transportation bill this year that will determine what projects have the ability to get money through 2010. The bill, first passed in 1998, was to expire at the end of September, but lawmakers passed a five-month extension, buying them time to complete the multibillion-dollar bill without affecting projects.
"If it is not in this proposal, we cannot get work on it for the next six years," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. "There's a huge gap between what Congress is requesting and what the administration is proposing."
She said the transportation budget is also a jobs budget since every billion dollars spent creates about 47,000 new construction jobs, according to some estimates.
On Monday the president requested $256 billion for the new transportation authorization bill, $9 billion more than what was previously requested. Still, it is not enough for some members of Congress and too much for others.
Transportation programs are two-part battles since they first need to be authorized in this pending bill, which needs to be renewed every six years, and subsequently need to be adequately funded. Berkley said it is important for transportation projects to get into the initial authorization bill but that "it doesn't matter what you pass if the money we've requested hasn't come."
Berkley and Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., sit on the House Transportation Committee that will handle that chamber's portion of the bill. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., has also said this bill will be one of this top priorities.
Porter said getting money for the Boulder City bridge and Hoover Dam bypass projects and making sure "the local governments are getting adequate funding to give the constituents a quick commute to work" are among his priorities for the bill.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., called transportation "a difficult problem" for the state, not only because of the bridge project, but also Interstate 15 and U.S. 95 widening projects.
"We have lots of problems with transportation in Nevada," Reid said. "It's a great concern to me."
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said he is a firm believer in investment in infrastructure but that Congress needs to remember that it can only spend what it can afford.
"Certainly we are going to fight for our fair share, but at the same time we've got to try to hold the total number down," Ensign said. "We've got to try to be a little more fiscally responsible."
Ensign said he and Reid will work together to make sure they are not requesting the same projects as the bill gets closer to completion.
Education was another common thread among the delegation's priorities as they all continue to watch the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act.
The administration requested $57.3 billion for the Education Department, a three percent increase from this year's level, which will help fund programs created in the act.
Berkley said she fears she will see more cuts to Pell grants and the elimination of dropout prevention programs that could affect students in Las Vegas.
Gibbons said every city in his district is looking for assistance to help follow the new education laws.
Meanwhile, Porter said besides the budget items, he will still be working on his legislation that would require background checks for teachers and create education savings accounts.
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